This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Thursday, 2 September 2010

Bringing Ourselves to Account

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is extracted from “The
Purification of the Soul”, compiled from the works of Imam ibn Rajab al-Hanbali
(r.a.), Imam ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (r.a.) and Imam Abu Hamid
al-Ghazali (r.a.).

When the nafs that urges evil overwhelms
the heart of a believer, the only remedy is to bring it to account and then to
disregard it. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (r.a.)
related on the authority of ‘Umar ibn al-Khaththab (r.a.), that the
Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “The intelligent person is the one who brings his
self to account and acts in preparation for what lies beyond his death; and the
foolish person is the one who abandons himself to his desires and cravings and
expects Allah to Fulfil his futile wishes.”

Imam Ahmad (r.a.) also related that ‘Umar
ibn al-Khaththab (r.a.) said, “Judge yourselves before you yourselves
are Judged; and weigh your selves in the Balance before you yourselves are Weighed
in the Balance. When you are Brought to
account tomorrow, it will be much easier for you if you have already brought
your selves to account today. So do so,
before you come to the Final Gathering for on that Day you will be exposed,
whatever you have hidden will no longer be hidden.”

That Day shall ye be
Brought to Judgement: not an act of yours that ye hide will be hidden. (Surah
al-Haqqah:18)

al-Hasan (r.a.) said, “A believer is
responsible for his self, and he brings it to account in order to please Allah.
Judgement will be lighter on the Day of
Judgement for the people who have brought their selves to account in this life,
but it will be severe for the people who did not prepare for it by bringing
their selves to account beforehand.”

A believer is distracted by something that he
likes, so he says to it, “By Allah, I like you and I need you, but there is no
means by which I can have you, so you have been kept from me.” When whatever it is, is out of his sight and
beyond his reach, then he returns to his senses and says, “I did not really
want this! What made me preoccupied with
it? By Allah, I shall never concern
myself with it again!”

The believers are a people who have been Prevented
through the Qur’an from indulging in the pleasures of this world; it comes
between them and what might destroy them. The believer is like a prisoner in this world,
who tries to free himself from its shackles and fetters, placing his trust in
nothing in it, until the day he meets his Creator. He knows full well that he is accountable for
everything that he hears, sees and says, and for everything that he does with
his body.

Shaykh Malik ibn Dinar (q.s.) said, “May
Allah Grant Mercy to a servant who says to his self, ‘Aren’t you such and such?
Didn’t you do such and such?’ Then he rebukes it and puts it in its place,
and disciplines it and restrains it in accordance with the Book of Allah,
Mighty and Glorious is He, and becomes its guide and master.”

It is undoubtedly the responsibility of anyone
who believes in Allah and the Day of Judgement, and who wishes to keep his
affairs in order, to make sure that he brings his self to account. He must control what it does and what it does
not do, even its most insignificant activities, for each and every breath we
take during our lifetime is precious. It
can be used to acquire one of the treasures which ensure a state of bliss that
is everlasting. Whoever wastes it, or
uses it to acquire things which may cause his destruction, will suffer great
losses, which are only allowed to happen by the most ignorant, foolish and
reckless of people.

The true extent of such losses will only become
apparent on the Day of Judgement. Allah
(s.w.t.) Says:

“On the Day when every
soul will be confronted with all the good it has done, and all the evil it has
done, it will wish there were a great distance between it and its evil. But Allah Cautions you (to fear) Him. And
Allah is Full of Kindness to those that serve Him.” (Surah Ali ‘Imran:30)